Introduction to NMEA 0183 The National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) 0183 is the most widely adopted electrical and data communication standard for marine electronics. Originally developed in the 1980s to replace older, proprietary interfaces, it has evolved through more than a dozen revisions. Version 4.11 , released in late 2018 (and reaffirmed in subsequent years), represents a mature, stable, and highly capable iteration of this serial data protocol.